Cycling: Right gear key for George Street Challenge for Major Taylor

Eric de Rivera completes in last year's George Street Challenge for Mayor Taylor.

With an average grade of 18 percent and a steepest section of 24 percent, George Street is no place to use a derailleur.

One gear, no shifting. That is how you ascend the steep hill.

Major Taylor used only one gear to climb George Street when Worcester was his training ground more than 100 years ago.

But that was all he had on his single fixed gear bicycle.

Today, there are many gear combinations available, and the key to a successful climb on Major Taylor's training ground is finding the gear that allows you to maximize power and maintain a smooth cadence.

“If you want to do well at George Street you need to have the right gear,” Eric de Rivera of West Boylston said.

De Rivera said cyclists need to pre-ride the hill and find the best gear.

“If you choose too large a gear, you won't be able to put out maximum power,” de Rivera said. “And if it's too low, it's just the opposite.”

De Rivera should know. The 55-year-old cyclist began racing when he was 15. He has competed at George Street three times, setting a record at each event. He holds the record for 50 and older on George Street with 24.53 seconds. The overall record is 22.83.

Cyclist will get a chance to put their climbing prowess to the test at the 11th annual George Street Bike Challenge for Major Taylor at 10 a.m. July 22 at George and Main streets in downtown Worcester.

The uphill time trial is presented by Barney's Bicycle and the Seven Hills Wheelmen, and proceeds benefit the Major Taylor Association.

Riders begin on Main Street from a standing start on level ground then immediately hit the hill on George Street. One racer at a time will ride against the clock in the 500-foot ascent.

“George Street has stood as a challenge to cyclists ever since the 1890s, but the Major Taylor Association is probably the first to make a formal contest of it,” said Lynne Tolman, president of the Major Taylor Association. “When Major Taylor moved to Worcester in 1895, before he became world champion, he was told that any cyclist worth his salt ought to be able to pedal up George Street. So he set out to bike up the hill, and remember, it was cobblestones back then, and one speed was it — no derailleurs. A crowd formed to watch, and Major Taylor went up — and down — twice in quick succession. Thirty-two years later, he wrote in his autobiography that he was the first to do that, and that 'very few' had done it since. We don't know how fast he went. If anyone timed him, that data is lost to history.”

To get your best time, de Rivera said, you have to look at the climb as a sprint.

“The other trick is to start out full bore and try to hold it,” de Rivera said. “It's 100 percent effort the entire way. You have to start full-out and try to hold it.”

“Even though it's steep, it's short and not too painful. If I had to race on a hill like that for 10 minutes, that's a lot different than the hurt for a few seconds,” de Rivera said.

De Rivera said he recently rode a long, steep climb — the Lincoln Gap in Vermont, which is considered the steepest 1-mile climb in North America. He said there was no letup on that ascent and he had to “paperboy,” which means zigzag like a paperboy delivering newspapers on both sides of the street, his way up some of the steep sections.

However, George Street is 500 feet to the finish, and requires a straight-ahead approach.

So what gear combination does de Rivera use?

“That's a secret,” he said. “I could tell you, but it wouldn't do any good. Everybody has to find their own gear.”

“You don't want to make the mistake of pedaling too big a gear. You want to have a high RPM. It's a sprint,” de Rivera said.

De Rivera said you should not shift because you lose focus, have to ease up and there is a risk that the shift may not go well. Cyclists have to find that one gear that works.

“If you have to shift you picked the wrong gear,” he said.

The two-block time trial has grown from 55 riders in 2002 to about 140 riders in recent years.

The uphill climb is open to bicyclists age 12 and up. The entry fee is $20. Proceeds are used by the Major Taylor Association to maintain the Major Taylor statue erected in 2008 at the Worcester Public Library and to educate schoolchildren about Major Taylor.

Cyclists can register at www.majortaylorassociation.org; or from 8:30 to 9:45 a.m. on race day.